Article of footwear

ABSTRACT

An article of footwear, such as a boot ( 2 ) worn by a football goalkeeper, has studs ( 3, 4 ) on the sole ( 1 ), wherein there are more studs ( 4 ) on the outer region of the sole ( 1 ) than on the inner region of the article of footwear.

The present invention relates to an article of footwear and particularly but not exclusively to sports boots such as football boots.

Goalkeepers conventionally wear boots with an arrangement of studs which are the same as those on the boots of other players. Traditionally, these boots have six studs spaced around the boot with two longer studs on the heel and four shorter studs on the sole. By the nature of goalkeeping, the goalkeeper often has to leap sideways to cover the entire goalmouth. The conventional arrangement of studs may not provide sufficient traction to enable the goalkeeper to achieve this.

It is, inter alia, an aim of the present invention to improve traction between the wearer and the ground when the wearer is moving sideways and to that end there is provided according to the present invention an article of footwear comprising an underside having raised portions for engaging the ground, wherein there are more raised portions on the outer region of the underside than on the inner region of the article of footwear.

The article of footwear may comprise a sports boot or shoe and the raised portions may comprise studs fixed to the underside of the article of footwear.

The article of footwear may comprise six studs spaced around the underside and at least one further stud located on the outer region of the article of footwear.

The article of footwear may comprise two such further studs located on the outer region of the article of footwear.

The or at least one of the further studs may extend a shorter, greater or the same distance from the underside of the article of footwear than the other studs.

The or each further stud may extend from the underside of the article of footwear at an angle to the other studs.

At least some of the studs may be removable.

The raised portions may comprise spikes fixed to the underside of the article of footwear.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: —

FIG. 1 shows part of the underside of a left football boot according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows a pair of football boots according to the present invention

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of part of a right football boot illustrating the location of the further studs,

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the boot illustrated in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the arrangement of the two forward studs of a conventional football boot, and

FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of the arrangement of the studs illustrated in FIG. 5 together with a further stud used in a boot according to the present invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 shows the sole 1 of a left football boot 2 according to the present invention. The boot has four studs 3 which are the same or similar to those on a conventional boot and two other studs on the heel (not shown). On the outer edge region of the sole 1 are two further studs 4 which are of a similar tapered shape to the studs 3 but slightly shorter. Although not shown in the drawings, the further studs 4 may instead be longer or the same length as the studs 3.

FIG. 2 shows a pair of such boots 2 and, as can seen, there are also two further studs 4 on the outer edge region.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the arrangement of the studs illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The boot 2 is shown at an angle to the ground 6 and when in this position both the conventional studs 3 and the two further studs 4 are in contact with the ground.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the boot illustrated in FIG. 3, clearly illustrating the two shorter further studs 4 which, when the boot is in its normal position, do not contact the ground.

FIG. 5 shows schematically the position of the two forward conventional studs 3 of a conventional boot when viewed along the line A-A in FIG. 1. When looking along this line only the front two studs 3 are shown. In FIG. 5, the outer edge of the boot is referred to by reference numeral 5 and, as can be seen, when the boot is inclined outwardly, the outer stud 3 digs into the ground.

FIG. 6 shows a similar view to that illustrated in FIG. 5 but in this case when looking along line A-A in FIG. 1, the further stud 4, as well as the conventional stud 3, digs into the ground.

The embodiment of the present invention described above is particularly applicable to football goalkeepers because the extra studs at the outer side of each boot enables the ground reaction force, at toe-off in the maximum driving phase, to be increased. The goalkeeper is able to generate a higher force and trajectory and, thus, cover a greater area more quickly. The possible reduction in stud length will also allow the goalkeeper to perform all other goalkeeping movements without hindrance or any negative effects.

Although the embodiment described above has been in respect of boots provided with studs, the present invention is equally applicable to footwear having, for example, spikes.

At least some of the studs 3, 4 may be removable in order to replace a broken or worn stud. This can be achieved by providing studs with a number of circumferentially disposed flats for accommodating a spanner or the like. The studs may have a threaded shaft which, with the aid of the spanner or the like, can be screwed to a plate fixed to the inside of the boot.

Furthermore, the present invention extends to footwear having various sole designs, such as moulded soles and to footwear that can be used on artificial surfaces, for example Astroturf. 

1. An article of footwear comprising an underside having raised portions for engaging the ground, wherein there are more raised portions on the outer region of the underside than on the inner region of the article of footwear.
 2. An article of footwear according to claim 1, comprising a sports boot or shoe.
 3. An article of footwear according to claim 1, wherein the raised portions comprise studs fixed to the underside of the article of footwear.
 4. An article of footwear according to claim 3, comprising six studs spaced around the underside and at least one further stud located on the outer region of the article of footwear.
 5. The article of footwear according to claim 3, comprising two such flier studs located on the outer region of the article of footwear.
 6. An article of footwear according to claim 3, wherein the or at least one of the further studs extends a shorter, greater or the same distance from the underside of the article of footwear than the other studs.
 7. An article of footwear according to claim 3, wherein the or each further stud extends from the underside of the article of footwear at an angle to the other studs.
 8. An article of footwear according to claim 3, wherein at least some of the studs are removable.
 9. An article of footwear according claim 1, wherein the raised portions comprise spikes.
 10. (canceled) 